Saturday, 17th, Sunday 18th, Monday 19th September

Teresa rejoined the boat on Saturday by car from VT.  We’ve been spending these days getting the boat ready for winter layup.  Lots to do – dry, drop and fold the sails, remove or hide all lines on the deck, haul Ron up the mast , winterize the engines and that’s just the outside of the boat. 

It’s a beautiful location here – right opposite Boldt Castle.  Unfortunately, the water’s low right now so we can’t see the castle from the inside of the boat. 

Friday, September 16th

Ron solo’d to Bonnie Castle Yacht Basin in Alexandria Bay, 44° 20’.59N 75° 54’.74W.  Light winds so sailed some of the way, but motor-sailed most of it.  Had a taste of the 1000 islands today – gorgeous as everyone has been telling us.  We’ll explore more fully next season. 

Docked at Bonnie Castle – twice.  The first time the guy had me come into a dock that was 16’ wide, which was unfortunate, since Quinita is 16’ wide and with fenders out she’s a little wider!  We managed to get half way in and wedged, so decided to try a dock that was actually big enough for us! 

The view from the marina is beautiful which makes up for the showers which are not beautiful.  Oh well, this promises to be a great place for the winter layup and we’ve certainly showered in worse places. 

Today’s log: 26.4 nm, season total: 1502.0

Thursday, September 15th.

Teresa and Mary jumped ship for Jay, VT.  Mary is heading back to CT and Teresa will attend her GAL training and then meet Ron at Alexandria Bay where we’ll lay the boat up for the winter. 

Ron spent the day putzing around in Kingston, doing various jobs around the boat and preparing for (probably) the last sail of the season.  In the evening, Ron went to The Kingston Brewing Company.  You must go there.  It has wonderful beer, excellent atmosphere, superb service and excellent beer. Oh, and the beer’s pretty good too.  If you're in North America, come here! It's only 7hrs 22mins from Boston, MA and 1 day 21hrs from San Francisco. Well worth the drive. I recommend a pint of the Dragons Breath Real Ale.  Then switch to Dragons Breath Pale Ale, otherwise you’ll fall off your chair before you get to the end game.  What more can I say. Oh yes, the chap on the next table, heard me extolling the virtues of the beer and suggested I try the "beau" beer. So he bought me one. How good can it get?  By the way here’s a link to the pub:  The Kingston Brewing Company.  Go there!

Wednesday, September 14th.

Teresa is jumping ship tomorrow for commitments in VT, so since this may be her last day of sailing this season, she sailed with Ron to Kingston, 44° 13’.65N 76° 28’.73W.  Mary drove to Kingston and met us there.  We tried out our new screecher in 5-8 knot winds and were pleased with our speed downwind.  The wind soon dropped however and we furled the sail and motored for an hour.  Then the wind picked up and we unfurled the screecher again and sailed at 5-8 knts for a few hours until the wind picked up to 20 knots.  So the screecher was furled again and we got the genoa out.  Arrived at Kingston, docked with some difficulty in 18knt cross winds, tidied up the boat and met Mary. 

Went for dinner in Kingston – lots of eating and drinking choices here!

Today’s log: 29.9 nm, season total: 1475.6

Tuesday, September 13th

Teresa and Mary set off for Waupoos, 44° 00’.03N 76° 59’.42W, by car, found the Waupoos Marina, called Ron with details for docking then set off for a bike ride.  We cycled to The Lake on the Mountain, a geological phenomenon, an underground spring fed lake well above sea level.  Cycled around the coastline enjoying great tail winds, followed by great head winds.  It’s a pretty area with more vineyards, a couple of cheese artisans, and lots of fruit orchards and pretty farms.  Bought a local butternut squash for dinner and the lady gave us a couple of yummy apples to snack on. 

Ron sailed solo again and had an exciting start to the day.  The winds were blowing 20knots from the SW straight into the channel into Wellington.  Having got past the 4’ section there were breaking waves at the channel entrance.  Quinita handled it fine though, although it was a bit lumpy and noisy.  Out in the lake there were 6-8’ waves with the wind almost dead ahead, so Ron got soaked a few times bringing in the fenders and lines – I miss my crew!   Motored the first 6nm while the wind was on the bow and then bore away, raised the main with 1 reef and ¾ genoa.  Then the sailing improved – following seas and 8-9 knots boat speed. 

Today’s log: 43.9 nm, season total: 1445.7

Monday, September 12th

Teresa and Mary took the car and bikes to Wellington, 43° 57’.07N 77° 20’.27W, where they checked out the “marina”, had lunch at a very nice bistro and toured the area on bikes.  It’s an artist’s haven dotted with boutique vineyards (of course they had a little taste).

Ron sailed solo in light winds and motor-sailed the whole day so that he wouldn’t keep the girls waiting too long for their accommodation to arrive.  The entrance to Wellington was interesting – it’s not on any charts and we were told that it had 4’ depths in places.  It was pretty easy though – there was a narrow channel with the docks at the end, and my 2 dockhands were on the dock waiting to take my lines. 

The marina facilities were a bit basic, with the showers across the channel on the beach.  Teresa and Mary rowed over for a shower while Ron went to the library to use the internet.

Went for a walk to explore the town, dined on the boat and drank a bottle of wine that the ladies bought in a local winery. 

Today’s log: 36.8 nm, season total: 1401.8

Sunday, September 11th

Set off for Cobourg, 43° 57’.32N 78° 09’.92W, with light winds on the nose.  So we motored and hoped for the promised windshift to the SW which would have allowed us to try out our new screecher.  It didn’t happen.  What did happen was that Mary got seasick, and passed out … twice!  After the first time we didn’t worry too much but after the second time we decided to put Mary and Teresa ashore at Port Hope, and hope for the best.  Once ashore, Mary felt much better and she and Teresa cycled to Cobourg while Ron sailed there solo. 

Tried to access the internet to update the blog, but we discovered it cost $10/day ,so y’all have to wait!

Had a pleasant walk around the town, and then enjoyed trout on the grill for dinner. 

Today’s log: 24.4 nm, season total: 1365.0